Flight Compensation for London Heathrow Airport Delays and Cancellations

Not many passengers are aware, but you could be entitled to compensation when your flight is cancelled or affected by London Heathrow Airport delays. If your airline was responsible for the delay, then they should pay passengers as much as £520 (€600) in compensation according to the UK and EU's air passenger rights.

Not sure if your flight meets the criteria? Use our compensation check tool to find out, and to start your claim.

Most air travellers using London Heathrow Airport (LHR) are protected by European air passenger rights law (EU Regulation No. 261/2004). That's because under EC 261 it doesn't matter where you're from, you just need to have departed from an EU airport, or to have flown into one on an EU airline. The regulation also covers the EEA and 'outermost regions', like the Azores, Canary Islands, and Guadalupe. In the UK, there is a similar law, referred to as UK 261.

If your airline was responsible for the delays at London Heathrow Airport, you're owed a payout of up to £520 or €600 per person as it is an EU airport.

The law applies to previous delayed and cancelled flights too - typically you can claim for flights from up to 3 years ago.

Are you Protected by EC 261?

So you've been stuck waiting because there are delayed flights from London Heathrow Airport. Whether or not you're owed compensation hinges on a few factors.

Firstly, it is whether the delays in London Heathrow Airport are something your airline is expected to take responsibility for. If the delays are due to extraordinary circumstances, such as an unexpected incident at London Heathrow Airport, or bad weather affecting departures, then the airline can't be expected to shoulder the responsibility as these situations were outside their control.

It also depends on how long the delay was — and when it comes to eligibility, it is the time that you finally arrived at your destination that matters. Under both EC 261 and UK 261, you can claim up to £520 if your flight arrived over 3 hours later than its original schedule.

To make understanding eligibility for flight compensation simple we've built a compensation check tool which easily tells you how much you are owed. Or you can check our page on flight delay compensation.

When there are London Heathrow Airport flight cancellations, passengers are protected by regulation EC 261. Regardless of why the flight was cancelled, the airline is still responsible for its passengers, and must offer them alternative transportation or a refund.

Once the immediate issue of how to get to your destination is dealt with, passengers should also make sure to find out whether they are entitled to additional compensation as well. In some cases travellers could receive a payout of up to £520 per person.

If London Heathrow Airport cancelled flights, as opposed to your airline, the additional payout is unlikely. That's due to a clause about extraordinary circumstances, which says airlines shouldn't have to pay compensation for necessary cancellations caused by events outside of their control. That typically covers cancellations due to airport incidents and bad weather conditions.

When your flight was cancelled is also important. Compensation is owed if the airline cancelled your flight less than 2 weeks before departure, and weren't able to put you on a similar replacement.

Naturally, the law says a lot more about flight cancellation compensation than just the above — there's more information on our dedicated page.

Table shows values in € as specified in EC 261

This table shows you how much compensation you could be owed if your flight is eligible for compensation. To make sure all the surrounding circumstances are fully taken into account, fill in your details in our free compensation check.

Here’s what you should do if you're affected by delays at London Heathrow Airport:

• Collect proof of the delay or flight cancellation (e.g. emails from the airline, photos of the departure board).

• Keep all your travel documents.

• Ask your airline why your flight's been affected.

• Ask the airline to pay for your meals and refreshments.

• Pay attention to what the airline offers you — don't sign anything that would waive your right to compensation.

• Keep all receipts that prove the disruption cost you extra money.